


Grease

by spacefucker



Series: 30 Day Challenge (Marvel) [10]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Buildup, M/M, Mechanic!Tony, Pre-OT3, Thoughts?, may make this it's own story???, or would be if there wasn't so much blatant racism and homophobia, small town america is my fav
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 01:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8308435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacefucker/pseuds/spacefucker
Summary: It's a small world and gets smaller every day. Steve knows more about Tony than he thought.





	

There was a new mechanic in town and Bucky is smitten. 

Steve knew that Bucky had a soft spot for mouthy brunettes and he’d be lying if Tony didn’t do it for him, too. Tony was a little younger than Steve and Bucky but already had a full beard and looked like he was well beyond his years. Always wearing long-sleeved shirts even in the dead of summer. He was willing to die of heatstroke before he wore anything else.

Tony was well off by standard means. The shop was doing well and he had a way about him that drew people in. It was a stroke of luck that Tony had, for whatever reason, set up shop in their little town. He fit right in with his charm, flirting with anything that walked and handling irate customers with finesse.

On top of it all he had a one-hundred percent guarantee that when he fixed something it stayed that way.

Steve figured he was running from something, though. Tony had that look about him. His eyes always a little sunken in, a small tremor in his hands, the way he looked over his shoulder constantly like something was about to just jump out and eat him. People like Tony always had something. Steve just hoped it wasn’t bad. Their little town couldn’t handle something like that and while it would provide enough gossip for the next year there was no telling what it would do to the community.

So Steve figured the best thing to do would be to get close to Tony and figure out exactly what his deal was.

It wasn’t hard, honestly. Tony kept some seriously long hours and Steve was convinced that there were multiple days in which Tony didn’t sleep. It became a bit of a ritual to bring the man something to eat and force him to hydrate. Steve, a veteran with more time on his hands than he needed, began to spend inordinate amounts of time there just talking with Tony. They’d go on for hours while Tony flitted across the garage with Steve drawing him.

Loose sketches with Tony from several different angles, grease smeared across his face and down his neck, looking focused. He had, on one occasion, the pleasure of seeing Tony smile and Steve had practically dedicated a whole sketchbook to that look alone.

For all their talks, though, Steve came to realize that there wasn’t much that he was actually learning about him. So he pushed further and prodded harder and was met with more resistance than he thought he would. But then Bucky came in and started in on Tony, showering him with praise and asking questions about everything he was doing and then suddenly, Tony was opening up.

It was just little bits at a time and most of it was useless information but it was happening and that’s what counts. It stung Steve a little bit, sure, that Bucky was getting more out of Tony than he had, but he was happy that it was happening. Growing fond of Tony was a side effect he hadn’t figured for but it had happened anyway.

And then, one late night he and Bucky both had been called out to the shop. They’d arrived in record time, terrified something had happened to Tony, only to find him there with a blazing smile and barely able to stand still. He showed them both then, practically vibrating, a metal arm. It had obviously been made with Bucky in mind. It was anatomically correct and looked like an actual arm – just in gleaming metal.

Bucky had swept Tony up into a crushing one-armed hug and held him close while Tony rambled on and on about how he had a friend who would be coming into town – a Bruce Banner – who could help him attach the arm  and how Tony’s hope was that he’d have full range of motion.

Tony had been released and when his feet hit the floor he walked over to Steve with a soft, shy smile.

“I have something for you, too.”

Steve smiles and waves, “You don’t have to get me anything. Doing this for Bucky is enough for me.”

“Well,” Tony breathes in, clicking his tongue, “I didn’t really _get_ you anything. I built it.”

“Oh, well I…um.” Steve’s blushing a little and watches as Tony moves over to a covered heap.

Tony grabs onto the sheet and looks at his clutched hand and then to Steve before ripping the sheet off in one clean movement.

A motorcycle gleams in the warm garage’s light and Steve can hear Bucky gasp at the sight of it. Steve himself is having a hard time deciding which emotion to stick with because he keeps balancing between shock and awe. It is his bike. Or rather, a bike that looks to be very much like the one he had.

“You knew my father.” Tony says, and his voice is quiet, “My last name is Stark. Howard Stark is my father.”

Steve’s thrown and he can feel Bucky sidle up to his side and stiffen at the sight of the bike. Now Steve is straining, searching his mind and trying his best to remember. He knows Howard. Maria, too. When he thinks back enough he remembers Tony as well. Not as someone he’d met but more as someone he’d heard about. Always with glowing praise from Maria and detached acknowledgement from Howard.

“Why are you here?” Is all Steve can ask, hand twitching out to touch the bike.

Tony shrugs, “We all have to get away, Steve. Do you think someone would look to find me here?”

Steve shrugs too, “You’re their son.”

“I’m not _his_ son. You don’t get to claim fatherhood if you’re not willing to go through the motions.”

Bucky speaks up then, “Tell us about it.”

Tony offers him a small smile and shakes his head, “You don’t wanna hear about that.”

“We really do.” Steve says, catching Tony’s eyes, “we’re here for you.”

Tony just sighs and wipes a greasy hand over his face, “You can take the bike home tonight, it’s done, but the arm should stay until we can attach it.”

Bucky nods and just steps forward to kiss Tony on the forehead, mumbling a thanks into his hair before leaving the shop to wait for Steve.

And so Steve stands there, eyes tracking over Tony’s face, and instead of moving towards the bike takes two long strides to stand in front of Tony. He grabs Tony’s face and thumbs over his cheekbones before giving him a light kiss to the corner of his mouth and whisper a thank you. He turns, leaving a stunned Tony behind him while he rolls the bike out of the shop.

Steve can’t help but feel like there’s more thread to unravel here.


End file.
